Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Penang

This morning I had the privilege of attending a special convocation ceremony to honour Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam with a Honorary Doctorate of Science by USM. I was looking forward for this day especially hearing the address by Dr. Abdul Kalam.

For those who do not know who is Dr. Abdul Kalam, here is some background of him. Dr. Abdul Kalam was the 11th President of the Republic of India and one of the most distinguished scientists of India with the unique honour of receiving honorary doctorates from 34 universities and institutions. He has made a significant contribution to develop India’s first indigenous satellite launch vehicle SLV-III. He was also responsible for the evolution of ISRO’s launch vehicle programme After mastering launch vehicle technologies in ISRO, he took up the responsibility of developing Indigenous Guided Missiles at Defense Research and Development Organisation. To know more about Dr. Abdul Kalam, visit his website at http://www.abdulkalam.com/

This morning, he gave a lecture on a topic called "Evolution of Enlightened Citizenship". It was really good lecture...in fact the best lecture I ever went for. His lecture covers lot of areas such as Social Science, Biotechnology, Medical Science, Humanity and even religion. I was amazed with the depth of knowledge and the authority that this man has in the subject that he was delivering.

On a sad note, there was a group of faculty heads who was sitting on the stage busy chatting away and playing with their mobile phone. I am surprised with this kind of unprofessional behaviour show by the head of the faculties (or whoever they are) who are sitting on the stage. I wonder what kind of respect this so called "leaders" or "educators" are giving to such a great man like Dr. Abdul Kalam. Well, in a nutshell, this clearly shows the kind of materials that we have in our nation. Oh well, if they can't even stand properly while singing the national anthem, what else can we expect from them especially in developing the future generation. Anyway, this doesn't mean that because there are few bad apples, the whole basket of apples is bad. I know there are great professors and lecturers in USM who are passionate in what they are doing.

On a positive note, credit goes to the Pro Chancellor, Chairman of Council, Vice Chancellor and some head of department who, in my observation, giving close attention to the speech delivered by Dr. Abdul Kalam. The end note speech given by our Pro Chancellor and Vice Chancellor was excellent and with substance too.

I am also sad that there is no standing ovation given to Dr. Abdul Kalam after the great speech delivered by him. I wonder whether this is a standard protocol of USM of not giving a standing ovation for a great lecture by a great man. Who am I to question the protocol?

Whatever it is, I want to thank USM for allowing the public to view this memorable occasion. Hope that the comment above would be taken on a positive note and improvement would be done in future.

To Dr. Abdul Kalam, you have inspired me today and I am so blessed with the lecture that you have delivered. Thank you so much for spending time with us. God Bless You.